MAIN Home Life Entertaining Wine Blush & Rosé Wines

They're sometimes called the 'summertime wines' and to wine snobs a lightweight stepchild - but blush or rosé continues to gain fans around the world. Excellent rosé wines come from areas in Portugal, France, Spain, Canada, Australia and the USA.

White Zinfandel, very popular in the USA, is not a true rose, but a blush, the result of "bleeding" ( saignee ) - removing some of the fluid to give red zinfandel more color and flavor.

A mix of white and red wine is sometimes called a rosé. In fact, it isn't. Just as red wines get their color from the grape skins, rosé wines are carefully produced by removing the skins just before the liquid is a deep red. The taste is always light, but most have overtones closer to reds...

French Wine - Rosé Wine Making - The delicate operation explained in a way that enhances wine making's reputation as an art. Not for the amateur vintner..

The Cook's Thesaurus - Blush Wines - Quick factoids on what blush is, and isn't, with brief illustrated wine notes on the different varieties available.

Pretty & Pink: Dry Rosés - It seems everyone makes excuses and then goes on to say how much they enjoyed the rosés they tasted. This article follows the trend. Several labels are discussed without a sweet as candy blush in the bunch.

Southern Rhone Roses - This is an older article, but still an excellent review of the rosé wines of Tavel, Lirac and the Côtes du Rhône. The discussion of soft hued wines in the crashing colors of the site is a bit strange, but the review is well written and fun to read.

Stop and smell the roses - rosé wines - Wines & Vines pleasant article on the light colored wines reaches back to ancient Greece and then skips through the 60s and 70s American flirtation with sweet pinks to modern Champagnes and mature Rosés.

Bottled in Bordeaux - Bordeaux Clairet is a light colored wine that is still produced, but the claret that Americans and British enjoy is a red Bordeaux wine.

Also see in Wine -> Champagne | Wine & Food Pairing

Wine Grapes | Port & Sherry | Red Wines

Sparkling Wines | White Wines